China reclaims world’s fastest train title

After 6 years, the world’s biggest communist nation, China is reclaiming its title for the world’s fastest train.

The title was decrowned from the country following several accidents in 2011 that pushed its government to slow down its transit system.

Photo via The New York Times

But the Chinese government is fully ready to reclaim the tilt. In fact, by September, a new series of bullet trains capable of reaching speeds of 400 km/h (248 mph) will go into operation.

Least that we know, prior to the aforementioned accident in the past years, China’s bullet trains traveled at 350 km/h (217 mph), but were then reduced to 250-300 km/h (155-186 mph).

According to the report, Beijing will launched its “fastest” train in September 21 this year, the new trains will up and running, speeds will return to 350 km/h, but will be capable of going 400 km/h (248 mph).

For comparison, the still-in-development Hyperloop One recently reached speeds of 308 km/h (192 mph), though the plan is to hit 402 km/h (250 mph) while still in testing.

China is reclaiming the world’s fastest train title by September this year, as per local reports.

In an interview with South China Morning Post, Zhao Jian, Beijing Jiaotong University professor and a leading researcher on China’s high-speed railway network, said that in order to avoid more accidents at higher speeds, the railway operator will need to reduce the number of trains in use at one time.

Meanwhile, Associated Press (AP) has reported that China has laid over 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) of high-speed rail, and intends to add another 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) by 2020.

As of posting, China already spent a massive amount for the development that nearly over $360 billion.